Singer/songwriter Sam Roberts first came to the
attention of music fans with the release of the EP The Inhuman Condition in 2002. The
six-song album was a huge success in Roberts' native Canada,
containing the hit tracks "Brother Down" and "Don't Walk Away Eileen." In 2003,
Roberts released his full-length debut, We
Were Born in a Flame, an extremely catchy rock album that brought the
singer even wider recognition and praise, including a 2004 Juno Award for Album
of the Year.
Ticketmaster spoke with Roberts amid tour dates in
support of his recently released third album, the classic rock-flavored
Chemical City.
Ticketmaster: You're based in
Montreal. Can
you describe the music scene there?
Sam Roberts: Well, it's a recent phenomenon, but it's
thriving at the moment. I'm not sure what has brought it on. I suppose it is the
success of a few bands...who have really sort of brought it to people's attention.
But there's always been a great music scene there. Just nobody's ever noticed it
before, as happens in most cities that aren't L.A. or New
York. Eventually people just start realizing that there
are bands producing good music out of a certain place. And Montreal's a very
culturally oriented city, so it hasn't been a surprise to anybody. Just why now
I'm not really sure.
TM: Have you noticed any major
differences between Canadian audiences and American audiences?
SR: Not really. I mean familiarity is the only variable
at this point that factors into it in terms of differences. The nature of the
music appeals to people on both sides of the border, and overseas as well. And
rock and roll music to me is a real unifier. And certainly in the States, which
is the birthplace of it, in a lot of ways it's like going home with it. With
audiences, it's just a case of getting the people out and playing a show for
them and convincing them you're a band worth getting behind and that you can
make music that can mean something to them. And if you can manage to do that,
they can be some of the most loyal fans you have.
TM: How does the new album,
Chemical City, differ from your earlier
work?
SR: I think it's a rawer approach to making records in
the first place. We had been on tour for three years since the release of our
first EP and our first album. We had played hundreds of shows and realized that
we didn't want to go into the studio and make a studio record that was
constructed piece by piece. We wanted to go in there and try to capture the
energy of the live show and let that define the sound of the record. And that's
exactly what we did. We went in there and just tried to play as the band that we
are. And I think that's a fundamental shift for the record. For the first
record, it was me in the studio by myself, 16 hours a day, on a bit of a lone
wolf trip. This is more how I like to make records I think. And as a result of
that, to me, it has a more organic sound. It sounds more like an album. And the
fact that we went to Australia to record it and went on
this adventure around the world—I was writing the music as this was happening
too. So the whole experience was very organic and a complete thing. You sort of
take from your travels and take from the things you've seen and tie it into the
songs you write. Then you go and sit down as a band and try to work them out.
TM: What's your songwriting process?
Do you start with the melody, with words?
SR: Yeah, it can be any of those things. Sometimes it's
just a melody that you keep humming to yourself. Sometimes it's a riff on the
guitar or on the piano. Sometimes it's a drum beat. It can be anything and
that's the beauty of it. You're not tied down to one method. You can just let
yourself be inspired. Let the ideas come. And then from there, it's a different
story. Then you have to take that and mold it into something. That's when I like
to be alone. I like to have some peace and quiet and work through it and arrange
the song. And then when that's done and you can play a song from start to
finish, then I take it to the band and let them add their own thing...each one of
them brings something different to it as well. So if I write a bass line one
way, then James will come in and he'll play it and add his own personality to
it. And that's when the song really gets closer to its finished
form.
TM: Are there any particular shows
you're looking forward to playing on the new
tour?
SR: We just played New
York, Chicago and Detroit, and we had a
really great run through there and started to see the fruits of our labor down
in the States. People are coming out and shows are really well attended. And
even more than that, fans are coming out and know the words of the songs. They
obviously have been getting into the band more and more. The Sasquatch Festival
in Washington
state, coming up in May, is a real highlight of the year for anybody. Just an
incredible lineup of bands and possibly the most beautiful venue I've ever seen
anywhere. So that's one. And San Francisco and
L.A. are coming
up as well. And then we're hitting a bunch of places where we really haven't
really spent a lot of time in. We're going to Kansas. We're going to Phoenix. We're going to
Virginia. A
lot of Canadian bands tend to gravitate towards the major cities, like New York, LA and
Chicago. So it's
going to be interesting to get out there to some of these more out of the way
spots and see how we go over there.
TM: Do you have a favorite venue
where you like to perform?
SR: There's a couple. There's a venue in Montreal called the
Spectrum. And growing up as a kid, fantasizing about playing in a rock and roll
band, I used to walk by there all the time and always dream about playing there
ourselves. And when we did actually get a chance to play there it was all that
we hoped it would be and more. It was really something. It's really a special
room. It's got great sound and the energy coming off of the crowd is unlike
anywhere else I've ever seen. And that's a function obviously of Montreal itself as a city,
but it's also the way the place is just layed out. To me, that's the perfect
venue for a rock and roll show.
TM: Do you prefer performing live or
recording new material in the studio?
SR: That's a tough one. I think they're both necessary
and they both feed off each other. You can't continue to play live unless you
feed the band new material, new things to play, and keep things moving forward
musically. And there's also the relief to being in the studio. I mean being in
the studio can be one of two things. There's the relief that comes with finally
being able to work your ideas out and put them down on tape and capture them in
a recording. And then there's the repetitiveness of it and the fact that it's
very static. You're in one place all the time. You're indoors. There's none of
the immediate response that you get from the crowd. Touring as well is a very
grueling lifestyle and yet you have this instant gratification. You play and
you're rewarded with the fans' love coming back at you. But again there's a
grind associated with touring as well. They're both very necessary.
TM: In your youth, you were trained
on the violin and then switched to the guitar. What was it like making that
transition from classical music to rock?
SR: It was very easy. I think it was largely due to the
fact that I was a teenager at the time. Like twelve, I guess. And when you're
twelve you learn a whole bunch of things about yourself and the world that can
only be translated or only dealt with by rock and roll music and not classical
music. You know, there's girls. You want to stay out late at night. You want to
cause trouble. You want to disobey anybody who tells you what to do. And that's
when I started playing guitar and wanted to get into rock and roll music. I mean
I was always into it, but that was when I wanted to make it myself. So the
transition was actually a really easy one. And I think from the musicianship
standpoint...there's a discipline that goes along with playing an instrument like
the violin or the piano that helps you when you're learning how to play
something new. I mean I didn't see it as making a change. I still kept playing
the violin. I still kept in touch with a lot of my classical roots. I still do.
But it was just a case of adding to this spectrum of music that you play.
TM: Who are some of your musical
influences? SR: Like most people, you start picking through your
dad's record collection one day and throwing vinyls on the turntable. That's how
you discover the first bands that you really love. For me, those were Pink
Floyd, Bob Dylan, Bob Marley, The Kinks, Chuck Berry. And then you get into your
teenage years and you start...well, in grade six you're really into Run DMC and
Raising Hell. That was a huge
record in grade six. Basically all we ever listened to was Raising Hell and Licensed to Ill. I was really into that too. So I listened to a
little bit of everything. And then in high school you get really into music. You
start sharing your taste and learning about new things with your classmates.
Music ends up defining your circle of friends in a way as well. So that's when I
started getting into bands like the Jam and the Who, and then the Smiths. Later
on it was Spiritualized and the Verve, especially the Stone Roses and the Happy
Mondays. And so in the end I ended up with this huge hodgepodge of influences.
You end up straining them through your own personal filter, your own life and
experiences, and it becomes your own thing.
TM: How did you get together with the
other guys in the band?
SR: James (Hall) our bass player, we grew up one street
over from each other. We used to race our BMX bikes against each other and be on
the swim team together. So it just seemed like a natural progression that
eventually we'd play in a rock band. And Eric (Fares) went to high school with
the two of us. And Dave Nugent we met about six or seven years ago and we just
started playing together instantly. Far before we started releasing material out
into the wilds of the music landscape, we were just playing for ourselves. And I
think that's why we still have chemistry on stage and why it's important to
include them in everything that goes on, and to really make people understand
that this is a band and not just one guy under the spotlight with a bunch of
backing musicians.
TM: Who do you feel puts on an
incredible live show?null
SR: A great live show can be a guy just sitting down
with an acoustic guitar, if he's passionate about what he's doing. I went to see
this Australian singer/songwriter, Paul Kelly, not so long ago. And it was just
him and a guitar player and it was an incredible, incredible live experience.
And yet I like to see a band with the full light show and a huge wall of sound.
I actually went to see the Strokes the other day in Montreal, and they put on
an incredible show. It was great. I've seen Wilco, and Wilco's live show is
amazing too. There's no real bells and whistles. It's just straight playing. And
it's just amazing sound, great energy, and the songs are amazing. Their show at
this venue called Metropolis in Montreal was one of the best shows I've seen
lately.